More turbulence in fighter jet program

Dan Oakes

THE troubled Joint Strike Fighter project - upon which Australia is relying for its next generation of attack aircraft - has struck further chaos, with the US government sacking the general in charge and withholding hundreds of million of dollars in payments from the project's prime contractor.

The moves come less than a month after US Defence Secretary Robert Gates ordered a delay to the $US300 billion ($A340 billion) JSF program, including temporarily halting orders for 122 of the aircraft, to help fund further development.

The Australian government has committed to buying at least 14 of the cutting-edge fighters at a cost of $3.2 billion, and has indicated it will eventually take 100, or four fighter squadrons, at a projected cost of $16 billion. But that cost could blow out with delays and disruptions.

The JSF, also known as the F-35, is a ''fifth-generation fighter'' earmarked to replace the RAAF's F-111 bombers and FA-18 fighters from later next decade in what will be Australia's largest defence buy. There has been heated debate over whether it can be delivered on time and on budget, and if it will be the dominant fighter its makers have claimed.

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Defence Minister John Faulkner welcomed what he said was ''a strategy to stabilise [the JSF's] cost and schedule'', but also pointed out that the budget handed down by Mr Gates had yet to pass through the Congress.

''The Australian government welcomes the decisive action taken overnight by the United States government to reduce risk in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program,'' Mr Faulkner said in a statement.

''The Australian government's staged acquisition approach to the JSF, commencing with the acquisition of 14 aircraft, has strongly mitigated risk in relation to this vital program.

''As part of the Government's JSF acquisition strategy, significant cost and schedule buffers were built into Australia's project in anticipation of the steps announced in the US.''

However, defence procurement expert Andrew Davies, from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said that delays and JSF cost blow-outs were squeezing the Australian government.

The progress and performance of the F-35 over the past two years has not been what it should

''Defence's position has always been that they have enough contingency in their budget and schedule that it won't be a problem, but this further erodes the slack that we had,'' Mr Davies said.

''It's certainly trending in the wrong direction. Is it catastrophic? Probably not. Does it raise the level of risk? Yes it does.''